Heat-treating furnace



Oct. 14, 1930. c w sPlCER 1,778,045

HEAT TREATING FURNACE Filed April 21v 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG CLARENCE Wl/VFfi/f'fl SI /[ER INVENTOR ATTORNEY Get. 14, 1930. c. w. SPICER HEATTREATING FURNACE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21, 1928 FIG 5 a mu m U 55 iii-I'll! IIIOIIIIIIIIIOIIIOIIIIIIIOIIIQiauiE-E I I CLARENCE W/NFRED SPICER 'INVENTOR ATTORNEY c. w. SPICER 1,778,045

Get. 14, 1930.

' HEAT TREATING FURNACE Filed April 21, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG 7 FIG 8 I so \ X9 0 C2 CLARENCE WINFRED SPICER ENVENTOR ATTQRNE? 4 Patented Oct. 14, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlce HEAT-TR ATING FURNACE Application filed April 21,

My. invention relates to heat treating furnaces of the rotary type particularly to that type of furnace which may be used for heat treating tubes, bars, or shapes of cnside1' '5 able length, and has for its object to provide an improved meanswhereby tubes'or bars may be more uniformly heat treated than by the means heretofore employed, and to straighten thebars While being heat treated so that the product is in more perfect state than has been accomplished heretofore and at the same time obtain these objects in a shorter time and at less cost.

' The foregoing and other features of my invention will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification in which similar characters of reference indicate like parts after-which I shall pointout in the claims so those features which I believe to be new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

In the drawings "Figure 1 is a side elevation of my rotary d furnace with the feeder end at the right, close up against the heating chamber.

. Figure 2',i s an enlarged detail, in part section of one'section of my heating chamber.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the section shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a top view of the feeding mechamsm.

Figure 5 is an end view in part section of the feeding mechanism. Figure 6 is a side View in part section .of the feeding mechanism.

Figure 7 is an enlarged side view in part section of my quenching mechanism with a section of a tube passing through thecore. Figure 8 is a view on line 88 Figure7. In the carrying out of my invention I employ a specially constructed rotary heating chamber 10 which may be rotated on rolls 11 by asource of power which may be indicated as a sprocket 12. This chamber is made up of a plurality of units;-in Figure 1. I show four of these units provided with flanged ends 13 by means of which the units may be bolted together to form a chamber. of any desired length. At any convenient place on each unit 192s. Serial No. 271,775.

I provide a bearing guide 14 which is adapted to roll upon the rolls 11 of the cradles 15.

In the construction shown in Figure 2 I provide a cast iron shell and co-axial therewith I use a tube 21 which may be made of any material of high heat withstanding properties and non-electrical conductivity, such as fused alumina. \In between the tube 21 and the outer shell 20 I provide a packing of heat insulation material 22. The tube 21 is wrapped with a metallic ribbon 25 which serves as an electrical heat source the ends of which terminate in feeder rings 26 on the outside of the shell 20 but insulated therefrom. Brushes 27 are provided to ride on the feeder rings and-these brushes are furnished with current supplied from outside source 28.

In Figure 2 I illustrate the source of current as an adjustable transformer. With this source it will be readily understood that the current supply and voltage may be regulated in each section to give the required amount of heat within the chamber. not wish to limit myself to this, however, as each section can be connected to standard voltage line, say 440 volts and by varying the connections of the four units from all in series to series parallel to all in parallel the required range may be effected.

It will be readily understood that I do not limit myself to electric heating of my furnace as any of the well known systems of furnace heating may be utilized.

On the feeding end I provide'a feeding mechanism that revolves thetubes or bars at the same time that it feeds them longitudinally through the furnace. This device is mounted on a frame 40 and is provided with elevating means 41 to raise and lower the axis to adiust the lower surface of the tube or piece to be fed into the heating chamber in line with the lower surface of the chamber. Mounted to turn in bearings 42 I provide a carrier 43. This carrier is provided with bearings 44 and 45 in which shafts 46 and 47 are adapted to turn. These shafts carry rolls 48 and 49, having contours adapted to theshape of the bar or tube to be heat treated, and these rolls may be changed by slipping them-off the shafts 46 and 47 Ido and rolls with different contours substituted. It will be noticed that bearings 45 may be adapted to float in which case they may be backed by springs 50. This provides for frictional contact with the tube in spite of commercial variations in tube or piece sizes. On the ends of shafts 46 and 47 intermeshing gears 52-53 are provided, on the opposite end of shaft 46 I provide a gear 54. This gear meshes with gear 55 which is in turn secured to bevel gear 56 which unit is free to turn on pinvor stud 57 secured in carrier 43.

The gear 56 is a planetary gear and runs on the circular rack 58 which is bolted or otherwise secured to the frame 40. On the carrier 43 I provide a sprocket 60, which is connected to a source of power and when revolving the planetary gear 56 travels around the circular rack 58 and thereby gives rotary motion to the feed rolls 48 and 49 through the train of gears just described in detail.

In Figure 1 I illustrate a feeding mechanism on both ends of my heat treating device. I may or may not use the feeding device on the left as I choose because it is readily apparent that it is not always necessary as one piece of material will be forced through the furnace by the feed of the subsequent pieces.

With a means to adjust the height of the feeding means and means to change the feed rolls it will be apparent that a variation of sizes and shapes of pieces may be taken care of, and no matter what the variation may be the piece will always lay straight at the proper longitudinal line at or near the bottom of the heating chamber and be uniformly subjected to heat' and after it becomes freeof the feeding rolls the tendency of the piece to roll on the circular interior of the heating chamber will in itself tend to straighten out the piece and make it more perfect than methods heretofore employed.

The feeding mechanism is held against the heating chamber andthe-spa'ce. between the two is closed with a telescope spring extended member to keep-the amount of air entering the furnace at a minimum.

On the opposite end of therheating chamber from the feeding mechanism I provide, when required, a quenching device 80. This device is merely a'means for-supplying the cooling medium necessary to heat treating of the character described. For the purpose of this invention I employ a nozzle 81 which is connected to a water or other cooling me dium supply at 82 and has a plurality of ports or holes 83 leading into an annular chamber 84. This chamber 84- has a central opening 85 a trifle larger-than the tube or piece to be heat treated and a truncated conical orifice 86 thecross sectional area of mvaoea which is less than the combined area of the ports or holes 83.

It will be readily apparent that when water or other cooling liquid is under pressurethe annular chamber will be completely full of water and that a conical column of water will spurt outof the slot 86 and be directed away from the furnace side of the quenching device. As the tube or piece is forced into contact with the stream of water upon its entry in the. hole 85 the cone of water follows the surface of the moving tube and quickly transfers the heat from the tube or piece to the water thereby fcooL ing the tube and completing the proper quenching of the tubeor bar.

I wish it distinctly understood that my heat treating furnace'herein illustrated and described is in the form'in which I desire to construct it and that any changes or modi fications can be made as may be convenient or desirable without departing from the salient features. of the invention and I therefore intend the-following claims tofcover such modifications as naturally fall within the lines of invention.

I claim: 1. In a rotary furnace, the combination of a heating chamber of substantially uniform,

diameter: throughout, a quenching device, a feedlng mechanism. comprising means to longitudinally feed and rotate a comparatively long piece through the furnace, said means positively rotating the piece.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the heating chamber comprlses a plurality of elec-.

trical'resistance heated units, means to vary the heat in-each unit.

3. The device of claim 1 in which the quenching device is provided with a central opening substantially co-axial with the furnace, means to inject a stream of cooling .fluid into opening, to impinge upon the piece at an angle and at comparatively high velocity, means topermit. the free escape of steam and cooling fluid away from the piece.

4. In a rotary furnace, the combination of a heating chamber comprising a plurality of units rovided with central heatingchamhers, eac unit independently heated, means to vary the heat in each unit, a feeding mechanism com rising means to longitudinally feed the su stantially long piece to be heat treated into the furnace with a positive rotary motion, a conical stream of cooling medium, means to permit-the free escape of steam and cooling'medi'um away from the piece, means to feed the piece through the conical stream. I 5. The device of claim 4 in which the feeding carrier, the rotating carrier provided with means to impart positive rotating and longitudinal motion to the piece to be heat treated.

ingmechanism comprises a frame and rotat- 6. In a rotating furnace, the combination of a heating chamber, a feeding mechanism comprising means to longitudinally feed and rotate a piece through the chamber said means positively rotating the Piece at substantially the same speed as the urnace.

7. A rotary furnace provided with means for positively feeding a pipe through the furnace with combined longitudinal and rotary motion.

8. A method of simultaneously annealing and straightening a traveling tube comprising passing a tube through a furnace in contact with the Wall thereof with a combined longitudinal and rotary motion and quenching While the tube is being longitudinally fed and rotated.

Dated this 20th day of April, 1928.

CLARENCE WINFRED SPIGER. 

